Carpe Diem
by Narcissa Felton
Summary: Its a D/Hr fic set in their 7th year. Its a little AU and doesn't really follow HPB and DH... but basically the prologue explains the plot. :  R&R please!
1. Prologue

**Carpe Diem**

**Prologue**

Draco Malfoy.

The wealthy, pureblooded Prince of Slytherin. The cold, arrogant, and cruel arch nemesis of the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter. Hater of Muggles and Mudbloods.

That's what he was known for throughout Hogwarts, but what most didn't know was that Draco Malfoy had a secret.

He was in love with Hermione Granger.

The muggle-born, know-it-all, best friend of Potter. She represented the opposite of everything he and his family stood for but he couldn't help but be drawn to her. Unlike most of the female population of Hogwarts, who practically drooled at the sight of him, Hermione refused to join his "fan club" and that's one thing that he liked about her. He wanted a girl who could match him in wit and intelligence and who wasn't afraid to stand up for herself. But of course no one could ever know this so as much as it pained him to do it, he still went around calling her a mudblood and making fun of her looks.

Hermione hadn't changed much from her first year at Hogwarts. Her hair was only slightly less bushy, she still dressed in the same bookwormish fashion that she always does, and she wore no makeup. But to Draco, she had an inner beauty, unrivaled by any other witch at Howarts, or anywhere else for that matter. She was everything Draco wanted in a girl and more. But he would never tell her this because he knew that she hated him. To her, he was still the same arrogant bastard that constantly tormented her and the rest of the "Golden Trio" for the past six years.

Now they were in their seventh year and as the Head Boy, Draco found himself having to share a common room with the Head Girl, who was, of course, none other than Hermione. This was going to be the year that Draco made Hermione change her opinion of him.

He was going to make her fall in love with him.


	2. Chapter 1

**Carpe Diem**

**Chapter** **1**

_*Disclaimer: Hello...? Does it really look like I own__Harry Potter? If so, then I would be extremely rich but alas, I'm no JK Rowling...*_

It was a half hour before the train left for Hogwarts when Draco arrived at Platform 9 ¾, his face expressionless as his father gave him yet another lecture on upholding the Malfoy name and being the top of his class. Draco refrained from openly scowling or gritting his teeth, slowly tightening his grip on his trunk instead. Frustrated at his son's silent refusal to listen to him, Lucius Malfoy stormed off, leaving Draco's mother, Narcissa, to give her son a quick reassuring squeeze before hurrying after her husband.

Breathing a small sigh of relief, Draco picked up his trunk and went to find some of his housemates amongst the crowd of students and parents. Running a hand through his platinum blonde hair, which he stopped slicking back, he continued shoving his way through the crowd until he felt himself bump straight into someone, knocking them over. Looking down quickly, he saw that he had run into none other than Hermione.

His heart was silently racing at the sight of her, in her practical and conservative clothes, stuggling to get up off the floor. Keeping his emotions in check, he put a sneer on his face and said cruelly, "Looks like the Mudblood found where she belongs. On the ground, at the feet of a pureblood." At this comment, Hermione finally pushed herself off the floor and tried to glare at Draco, which proved to be harder than she thought, considering that she was only 5' 5'', while Draco stood at 6' 1''. Craning her neck back slightly, she met his cold gray eyes, trying to suppress the rising anger bubbling through her.

Speaking in a calm, even tone, she shot back "Well if you had been paying attention to where you were walking Malfoy, you wouldn't have knocked me over. Also, if I were you, which that Merlin I'm not, I would watch what you say to me, after all I _am_ Head Girl."

"I'm not stupid, Mudblood, that old crackpot fool put that in his letter. It's also not my job to watch out for Mudblood who are in my way." Draco retorted.

Silently fuming with anger, Hermione though to herself, _Oh god, what did I do to deserve having to share a common room with this prick?_ Glaring at Draco again, she spat back "Just shove off, Malfoy, and go find some of your little Death Eater friends to bother."

Ignoring the pang he felt in his heart, he wordlessly picked up his trunk and walked off, his blonde head still visible over the crowd. Hermione watched him walk away for a moment before turning around and spotting the heads of her two best friends towering over the crowd.

Draco managed to spot Blaise Zabini leaning against the wall near the edge of the crowd, crossing his arms and looking bored as Pansy Parkinson stood nearby, blabbing on about her summer and some boy that she met while vacationing in France. Meanwhile, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle stood there, munching on a few cauldron cakes. As Draco got closer to them, Blaise finally uncrossed his arms and stood up straight, giving Draco a curt nod. Pansy, noticing Blaise's sudden change in stance turned around and smiled when she spotted Draco. He stopped in front of them, putting his trunk down before returning Blaise's nod and giving Pansy a small smile. Draco stood there slightly awkwardly until Pansy choose to break the awkwardness by asking Draco about his summer. Draco relaxed a little as he recounted a few mission his father and the Dark Lord had sent him on. Now, Draco wasn't exactly proud of the fact that he had become a Death Eater the previous year but it wasn't like he had much of a choice. He had been trained from a very young ago to be a Death Eater by his father, one of Voldemort's closest followers. Glancing at the clock, he saw that they had about 10 minutes until the train departed. Motioning to the others, they all grabbed their belongings and made their way towards the train.

Once they were inside the train, they headed towards the back of the train to where their usual compartment was. Suddenly, they were stopped by the sight of the Golden Trio and Ginny boarding the train down the aisle and walking in their direction unknowingly. Draco's gray eyes hardened at the sight of Hermione walking with Scarhead and the Weasel. Inside though, Draco's heart started racing inside his chest again, thumping madly against his ribcage. The way her eyes lit up in excitement and how the corners of her mouth curled up in a broad smile sent a pleasant wave of chills down his spine. The minute she spotted him though, the excitement in her eyes suddenly turned into a cold glare of hate, specially reserved for him, a frown quickly forming on her face. Harry and Ron started scowling as well, slowly moving into protective stances on either side of Hermione.

"Well look who we have here, Potter, Weasel, and the Mudblood" drawled Draco in a mocking tone.

His face reddening in anger, Ron moved to punch Draco as Hermione grabbed the back of his shirt and held him back.

"Let me go Hermione! This bloody ferret deserves a good beating!"

"Calm down Ron! We all hate him but there's no need to get into trouble before the train even starts moving!"

Ron lowered his fist reluctantly as he took a step back. Pansy snickered from her place behind Draco while Blaise scoffed at how easily Ron backed down. Hermione shot Ron a warning glare before turning back to Draco and his crew.

"Don't' you have anything better to do with your time, Malfoy? Just leave us alone for once."

With this statement, Hermione angrily shoved her way past the group of Slytherins, leaving Harry and Ron to follow after her quickly, ramming into Draco's shoulders as they passed by him. Draco slammed the compartment door open and flopped down on a seat next to the window, moodily staring out the window. The other Slytherins quietly slipped in the compartment behind Draco, shutting the door behind them and sliding into a seat, afraid to disturb him.

A loud whistle pierced the silence as the train lurched forwards, finally departing from the station.

Draco took no notice of this, continuing to stare out the window, his thoughts turning towards a certain bushy-haired Gryffindor. It wasn't until he remembered that they were supposed to have a meeting with the other Prefects before they reached Hogwarts that he snapped out of his reverie and left the compartment to remind Hermione of the meeting. Stopping in front of the compartment door, Draco took a moment to compose himself before sliding the door open, only to be momentarily shocked by the sight of Hermione and Potter cuddling to his left. Recovering quickly from his shock, he turned to Hermione, completely ignoring both Potter and Weasley, and said coldly "Meeting. Prefects. Now." Without waiting for a response, Draco abruptly turned on his heel and stalked off towards the compartment where the meeting was to be held with only one thought cycling through his mind: _Damn that Potter. Always has to get everything, including Hermione._

Shortly after Draco arrived at the compartment, Hermione slipped in, with Ron trailing behind her. Turning to face the other 22 prefects, ignoring Draco's presence, she greeted them all and then started the meeting.

"So to get down to business, this year Dumbledore expects us to plan several balls this year, one for Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's, and a graduation ball for the 7th years. Aside from that, just remember the rules and don't abuse your positions as prefects."

With this comment, Hermione shot a hard glance at Draco and the other Slytheirn prefects.

"The password for the Prefects' bathroom is licorice snaps"

Everyone looked at her strangely until Hermione shrugged and replied, "Dumbledore."

The rest of the meeting went by fairly quickly, with Hermione doing all the talking and Draco simply leaning against the wall, crossing his arms in boredom.

Before Hermione adjourned the meeting, she said "Oh, and I almost forgot, since rumors have been spreading about You-Know-Who has been getting stronger and has begun planning an attack on Hogwarts, Dumbldore thought that it would be wise to have us do nightly patrols in pairs. You'll be paired with the other prefect from your house and year with the exception of Ron and Parkinson. You two have to pair up since, as Head Boy and Girl, Malfoy and I are being forced to be partners."

Ron and Pansy were glaring at each other for a good few minutes before Hermione cleared her throat and left them all to go change into their school robes before arriving at Hogwarts.

As Draco made his way back to his compartment, he couldn't help but think: _I can definitely use this to my advantage. I'll make her forget all about Potter, and then I can start with my plan._

**Please leave a review! I want to know if this fic is worth continuing after this chapter... :3**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

****_*Disclaimer: Yep, still don't own Harry Potter. The plot's mine though, with the exception of the Sorting Hat song. I borrowed that from OotP... I think.*_

The sky had darkened considerably by the time that the train had arrived at Hogwarts, the anxious chatter of the students increasing in volume as they all exited the train. Hagrid's booming voice could be heard over all the ruckus and his gargantuan figure visible in the distance as he called for all the first years to come with him.

Draco sauntered off the train, not bothering to wait for the others, and made his way towards the carriages, robes swishing behind him. He smiled to himself as her remembered that he had to share a carriage with Hermione since they were Heads. Quickening his pace, he found the carriage near the front of the lineup with a gold-plated sign that read Head Boy/Girl mounted on the door. Opening the door, he could see that Hermione was already inside, sitting in the corner, reading a small paperback novel. Smirking at the sight, Draco settled into a seat across from Hermione, letting himself get wrapped up in thoughts about the brunette Gryffindor seated less than 3 feet away from him.

Soon enough, the carriage came to a halt in front of the bridge leading to the massive oak doors of the Entrance Hall. Not waiting for Hermione to move, Draco pushed the door open and slid out of the carriage, landing lightly on his feet. He turned back around slightly and glanced at Hermione exiting the carriage, from the corner of his eye. Draco fought the urge to stare at her retreating form before quickening his pace to catch up to her. Hearing footsteps behind her Hermione turned her head and spotted Malfoy's white-blonde hair not too far behind her, standing out in sharp contrast to their dark surroundings. The wind blew, sending a chill down her spine. Pulling her robes tighter around her, she continued walking at a brisk pace, shaking off the feeling of someone staring intensely at her. She knew that the only one behind her currently was Malfoy and that it couldn't possibly be him who was watching her so closely. But what Hermione didn't know was that Draco was indeed staring at her as she walked through the doors into the Entrance Hall and made her way towards the Great Hall await the arrival of the other students.

Once inside the Great Hall, both of them were greeted by Dumbledore and congratulated for making Head Boy and Girl. A table had been set up for the two of them off to the side of the staff table mush to Draco's delight and Hermione's dismay. As soon as they reached the table, the other students, with the exception of the first years, started piling in, talking loudly as they all plopped down on the benches of their respective house tables, eagerly awaiting the Sorting and the Welcome Feast.

Once everyone had settled down, the Great Hall's doors swung open, revealing McGonagall and the group of anxious first years filing in behind her, staring in awe at the enchanted ceiling and floating candles. They all gathered near the staff table where McGonagall was waiting with a three-legged stool and the Sorting Hat resting upon it. As the first years waited in anticipation, the Sorting Hat opened up at the brim and began to sing:

_In times of old, when I was new,_

_And Hogwarts barely started,_

_The founders of our noble school_

_Thought never to be parted._

_United by a common goal,_

_They had the selfsame yearning_

_To make the world's best magic school_

_And pass along their learning._

_"Together we will build and teach"_

_The four good friends decided._

_And never did they dream that they_

_Might someday be divided._

_For were there such friends anywhere_

_As Slytherin and Gryffindor?_

_Unless it was the second pair_

_Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw,_

_O how could it have gone so wrong?_

_How could such friendships fail?_

_Why, I was there, so I can tell_

_The whole sad, sorry tale. _

_Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those_

_Whose ancestry's purest."_

_Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose_

_Intelligence is surest."_

_Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those_

_With brave deeds to their name."_

_Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot_

_And treat them just the same."_

_These differences caused little strife_

_When first they came to light._

_For each of the four founders had_

_A house in which they might_

_Take only those they wanted, so,_

_For instance, Slytherin_

_Took only pure-blood wizards_

_Of great cunning just like him._

_And only those of sharpest mind_

_Were taught by Ravenclaw_

_While the bravest and the boldest_

_Went to daring Gryffindor._

_Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest_

_and taught them all she knew,_

_Thus, the houses and their founders_

_Maintained friendships firm and true._

_So Hogwarts worked in harmony_

_For several happy years,_

_But then discord crept among us_

_Feeding on our faults and fears._

_The Houses that, like pillars four_

_Had once held up our school_

_Now turned upon each other and_

_Divided, sought to rule._

_And for a while it seemed the school_

_Must meet an early end._

_What with dueling and with fighting_

_And the clash of friend on friend._

_And at last there came a morning_

_When old Slytherin departed_

_And though the fighting then died out_

_He left us quite downhearted._

_And never since the founders four_

_Were whittled down to three_

_Have the Houses been united_

_As they once were meant to be._

_And now the Sorting Hat is here_

_And you all know the score:_

_I sort you into Houses_

_Because that is what I'm for._

_But this year I'll go further,_

_Listen closely to my song:_

_Though condemned I am to split you_

_Still I worry that it's wrong,_

_Though I must fulfill my duty_

_And must quarter every year_

_Still I wonder whether sorting_

_May not bring the end I fear._

_Oh, know the perils, read the signs,_

_The warning history shows,_

_For our Hogwarts is in danger_

_From external, deadly foes_

_And we must unite inside her_

_Or we'll crumble from within_

_I have told you, I have warned you..._

_Let the Sorting now begin._

With those closing words, McGonagall pulled out the list of first years' names and began calling them up one by one to the front of the hall to be sorted.

"Arnold, Kelly"

"Gryffindor!"

"Burns, Robert"

"Gryffindor!"

"Davies, John"

"Ravenclaw!"

The sorting continued until the last student, a rather small boy who was placed in Hufflepuff, was sorted and they were seated at their new houses' tables. Dumbledore then rose out of his seat and tapped on the side of his goblet to get everyone's attention. He then went on to give his traditional welcome speech. Most of the seventh years were about ready to doze off, having heard this same speech for the past six years, when Dumbledore finished this speech and began the feast. As everyone started digging in, Harry and Ron looked over at where Hermione was seated next to Malfoy and mouthed at her to meet them later. She mouthed back that she couldn't since she had Heads' duties. Draco, who had been watching this exchange, was highly amused at the look of disappointment on Potter's and Weasley's faces.

After dinner, the prefects led the first years to their common rooms while Draco and Hermione were asked to wait by Dumbledore. Once everyone had left the hall, Dumbledore led the two of them to their living quarters, which were located on the fourth floor behind a rather large portrait of Merlin, who was seated at the Round Table of King Arthur's court. Draco, knowing fairly little about the Round Table or King Arthur, was rather indifferent about the portrait but Hermione on the other hand was absolutely fascinated by the portrait. Chuckling lightly at their differing reactions, Dumbledore left them to explore their rooms after giving them the password for the portrait, which was 'unity'.

Looking around the common room, they saw a couch and a couple armchairs in front of a roaring fireplace. Portraits of their respective house founders were mounted next to each other, which they learned led to their houses' common rooms. There was a large bookshelf, much to Hermione's delight, opposite the fireplace. Two curving staircases, one with green and silver carpeting and one with red and gold carpeting, led up to their dorms with a door, which they guessed was the bathroom, in the middle where the two staircases met.

Completely ignoring him, Hermione rushed over to the bookcase and selected a rather large and heavy leather bound book and plopped down in an armchair in front of the fire, leaving Draco to explore his room. It had been decorated with forest green walls, which had lines of silver running from the ceiling to the floor. A large four-poster bed was situated opposite the door, with black silk sheets, deep green pillows propped up against the headboard, and forest green hangings. Turning to his left, he saw a mahogany desk placed against the wall and a large wardrobe was several feet away from it. On the opposite side, a set of doors led to a balcony, which connected to Hermione's room and had a couple of chairs and hammocks set up on opposite sides.

Draco headed inside and stripped off his robes, changing into a loose, gray cotton t-shirt and a pair of loose, plaid cotton pants. He grabbed a piece of parchment, a quill, and a new bottle of ink off his desk and headed down the stairs back to their common room.

Walking up to one of the armchairs, he smiled softly at the scene in front of him. Hermione had fallen asleep in her seat, the book she had been reading had fallen on the floor, the pages wide open and her arms were curled under her head. Picking the book up off the floor, Draco glanced at the title, _Hogwarts A History_. Shrugging, he set the book down on the table next to her and seated himself on the other armchair across from her, resting the parchment on the arm of the chair. He set the ink bottle down on the table and dipped his quill in it. Letting his mind wander, his quill scratched absentmindedly across the parchment. As Draco stopped doodling to get some more ink, he finally looked at what he had drawn so far. To his surprise, he saw the face of a girl, not just any girl but the face of Hermione. She seemed to be sleeping, as her eyes were closed and he seemed to have drawn a slight smile on her lips. Dipping the quill back in some more ink, Draco set to finish his sketch.

Seeing that the fire had begun dying out, he glanced at the clock and noticed that it was late and classes started tomorrow. He figured that he better wake Hermione up so that she wouldn't wake up with a crick in her neck. Throwing a pillow at her head, after tucking away the parchment with his sketch, he said rather loudly and obnoxiously, "You better go to bed Mudblood. I'd rather not have to come down here in the morning and see your ugly self lying there." Rubbing some of the sleep out of her eyes, she spat back, "What the hell, Malfoy?" She glared at him dangerously and, internally, Draco cringed at the way she said his name as if it were poison. She snatched the book off the table and stormed off to her room, cursing Malfoy under her breath. Draco made his way to the bathroom, hoping to be able to brush his teeth and escape to his room before she came out of her as he was about to walk off to his room, the bathroom door flew open and Hermione stormed inside, completely ignoring Draco standing there next to her. He slipped out of the room and into his room, flopping down on the bed and staring at the top of his four-poster until sleep claimed him.

Meanwhile, Hermione had finished in the bathroom and had managed to calm down a bit from her earlier encounter with Malfoy. Walking into her room, she looked around in awe. The walls were scarlet with lines of gold running from the ceiling to the floor. A cherry wood desk was in the corner to her right and a large wardrobe not too far from it. There was a large four-poster bed with scarlet hangings and goldenrod sheets. She spotted a set of double doors off to her left and walked towards them, opening the right side and stepping out on the balcony. Her face brightened at the hammocks and she ran back inside quickly to grab _Hogwarts A History: Revised Edition_ and curled up in the hammock closet to her room, letting herself escape reality for a while.

Several hours had passed before Hermione crawled into her bed, thoughts of Harry running through her head.

**Please please please review! The more reviews the more inspired I feel to continue writing this fic :3 ~Narcissa Felton**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_*Disclaimer: Frankly, this is getting real annoying... why must I continuously say I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER?*_**  
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The sun came streaming through a crack in the hangings around Draco's bed a shone directly on his face. Grumbling, Draco rolled out of bed, unable to sleep longer, and glanced at the clock and groaned. It was only 6:30 and breakfast didn't start until 7:30. Grabbing a set of school robes and his uniform, he set off towards the bathroom to take a shower.

Wrapping a towel around his waist, Draco stepped out of the shower only to see the door open and a half-asleep Hermione step inside the bathroom. As she rubbed her eyes, she froze in shock, finally noticing Malfoy standing in front of her, wearing nothing but a towel and was dripping wet. Too shocked to say anything other than a rushed "S-sorry", Hermione practically ran out of the bathroom and back to her room.

Slamming the door behind her, she tried to shake the image of Malfoy out of her brain as she started gathering her stuff for her classes that day. Looking over at the clock, she cursed slightly, noting that she only had 15 minutes to shower and change before breakfast started.

She snatched her robes and uniform as she rushed to the bathroom. Casting a quick drying spell on her hair and pulling it into a messy ponytail, she grabbed her bag and ran out the portrait to go meet Harry and Ron before breakfast. Meanwhile, Draco had finished dressing and grabbed his stuff before calmly exiting out the portrait towards the Great Hall.

As he neared the doors of the Great Hall, he could hear voices nearby. Rounding the corner, Draco saw that the voices came from none other than the "Wonder Trio". The sight of them sickened him. Potter had arm wrapped around Hermione's waist, she was looking at his lovingly, and the Weasel was standing in front of them laughing stupidly. Walking past them, he commented "I would suggest that you three move you little sickening display elsewhere, so the rest of us don't feel like hurling, having to watch you." Not bothering to wait for a reply, he went to push the door open to enter the Hall before being yanked back by his shirt. Turning around, he barely had time to duck, as Weasley's fist was headed for his face.

"What the hell was that for, Weasel?"

Ron didn't reply, instead, aiming another punch at Malfoy. Not expecting this second punch, he doubled over, clutching his stomach with one hand and swinging out his fist to punch Weasley in the eye with the other. His face burning red in anger, Ron leapt at Draco, knocking him over and pinning him to the ground, continuing to try and beat the living daylights out of him. Unfortunately for the both of them, at that moment, McGonagall had just appeared around the corner. Absolutely livid, she marched up to them and yanked them apart.

"What is the meaning of this and Mr. Malfoy?"

Pointing an accusing finger at Draco, Ron exclaimed, "It's all his fault, Professor! He was insulting us!"

Draco scoffed and replied calmly, "I did not such thing Professor. As Head Boy, I was merely suggesting that Potter and Granger not display their affects in such a public location when Weasley attacked me."

"That's a lie, Malfoy, and you know it!"

"Enough! Both of you will be serving detention with Mr. Filch after dinner for two hours starting tonight. You will report to my office first before your detention. I'm very disappointed in the both of you, especially you, Mr. Malfoy. As Head Boy, you should be setting an example for the rest of the students, not participating in these childish fights."

With those words, McGonagall left them standing there and entered the Hall.

"Well this is just bloody great."

Ron was still holding his eye, where a large bruise was starting to for. Too pissed off to say anything, Draco stormed off into the Hall.

Examining Ron's face, Hermione quickly treated the bruise before they all went to breakfast.

Breakfast seemed to go by quickly as a big blur and next thing Draco knew, it was time for his first class, Double Potions with the Gryffindors. He groaned. He may be in love with Hermione but he hated the rest of the Gryffindors. Shouldering his bag, he went to go catch up with Blaise and the others.

**Please review! The more feedback I get the better I can write this fic :3 ~Narcissa Felton**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_*Disclaimer: Blasted thing. Anyways, HP doesn't belong to me yadda, yadda... I really hate these bloody disclaimers.*_

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were nearing the dungeons when Hermione suddenly realized that she had forgotten her Potions textbook in her dorm. She cursed under her breath as she let go of Harry's hand.

"What's wrong Hermione?" Harry looked at her curiously, his concern for her evident in his eyes.

"I just left my potions textbook in my dorm"

"Well you can't go now, Hermione! You'll be late and Snape will kill you!" Ron knew that Snape would gladly give her a detention for being late.

"I know, Ron, but I need my book. You guys just go on without me."

Hermione ran back down the hall, sprinting up the stairs until almost collapsing in front of Merlin's portrait. She barely managed to say the password, 'unity', before taking another deep breath and sprinting up the stairs to her room. Flinging the door open, she raced inside, spotting her textbook on her bed, peeking out under her pajamas. She threw the clothes off and grabbed the book, racing back down the stairs, slamming the door behind her, and throwing the portrait door open, ignoring a protesting Merlin. Once in the hall, Hermione took a few seconds to catch her breath before continuing to race back down the stairs towards the dungeons.

As she reached the doors that lead to Snape's classroom, she could hear Snape's voice drifting through the doors. She took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Snape immediately stopped talking and glared at Hermione.

"Miss Granger. You're 10 minutes late."

Hermione was about to open her mouth to explain when Snape cut her off.

"No excuses. 20 points from Gryffindor and a week of detentions now hurry up and take a seat."

Protests could be heard from the Gryffindor side of the room while snickers could be heard from the Slytherin side. Avoiding looking at Snape, Hermione slid into a seat next to Harry. He slid his hand into hers under the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze before turning his attention back to Snape's lecture.

"As I was saying, before Miss Granger so rudely interrupted, the antidote to Veritaserum is rather complicated and requires an immense amount of attention and concentration."

Snape glared at Neville and Seamus as he said this for they both held the record for most destroyed cauldrons.

"You have until the end of the class to finish brewing your potion and to bring a vial of it up to my desk for grading. You must work individually."

Snape went back to his desk while everyone else began preparing their ingredients. By the end of the class, only two people had been able to brew the potion correctly, Hermione and Draco, while the others were receiving disapproving glares from Snape, particularly the Gryffindors. Seamus had been sent to the hospital wing with minor burns and Neville had managed to melt yet another cauldron. With a glare from Snape, they were all dismissed.

The next few classes went by without any major incidents until lunch. That's when it all began...

**I've noticed that I haven't been getting many reviews lately so to see if people are still reading my fic, I'll probably wait until I get to at least 25 reviews before I upload Chapter 5... so go reivew! :3 ~Narcissa Felton**


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